Pregnant teen boys in Chicago ad campaign stirs up controversy

A provocative ad campaign featuring sad-faced teen boys with swollen pregnant bellies spilling over their pants is turning a lot of heads on the streets of Chicago.

The photographs, which were digitally altered to make the boys look like they’re expecting, run with the tagline, “Unexpected? Most teen pregnancies are.” They also encourage teens to visit the website BeYouHealthy.org for information on avoiding unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.

The Chicago Department of Public Health’s Office of Adolescent and School Health intentionally created the shocking campaign to increase awareness around the Windy City’s teen pregnancy rates. While teen pregnancies are down 33 percent in Chicago, they’re still 1.5 times higher than the national average.

“The point was to get people’s attention and get conversation started about teen pregnancy and teen births, and how they really affect a community,” Brian Richardson, a spokesperson for the department, told the Daily News.

The ads that started popping up on the sides of buses and trains in May are also meant to send the message that pregnancy and parenthood are more than just a woman’s responsibility.

The ads have people in Chicago talking and have caught the attention of national media, but will they actually lower teen birth rates? Similar images of depressed-looking pregnant teen boys were used in a Milwaukee ad campaign and credited with reducing teen pregnancy rates by 10 percent, according to the Daily News.

Here’s a look at more ad campaigns that used shocking images of babies and kids to make a point.

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French sweets company L’univers de Chocolat launched its new line of whiskey-infused chocolate in 2010 with an ad campaign featuring photographs of drooling, stony-eyed children who look as if they’re recovering from a night of hard-core partying. less

French sweets company L’univers de Chocolat launched its new line of whiskey-infused chocolate in 2010 with an ad campaign featuring photographs of drooling, stony-eyed children who look as if they’re ... more

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A 2011 ad campaign from the Milwaukee Health Department featured photographs of adorable babies cuddling butcher knives are emblazoned with the statement: YOUR BABY SLEEPING WITH YOU CAN BE JUST AS DANGEROUS. The images were meant to raise awareness about the city’s many babies who die while sleeping in their parents’ beds every year. less

A 2011 ad campaign from the Milwaukee Health Department featured photographs of adorable babies cuddling butcher knives are emblazoned with the statement: YOUR BABY SLEEPING WITH YOU CAN BE JUST AS DANGEROUS. ... more

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A series of billboards posted along roadsides in Connecticut in 2009 featured two images: one of a dewey-eyed baby sucking on a beer bottle and another of teenagers holding plastic cups at a keg party. The words “You wouldn’t do this then…Why now?” communicated the message that underage drinking is never safe. The idea was to remind parents that their teenagers are still children and to discourage adults from serving alcohol to minors. less

A series of billboards posted along roadsides in Connecticut in 2009 featured two images: one of a dewey-eyed baby sucking on a beer bottle and another of teenagers holding plastic cups at a keg party. The ... more

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The Boy Scouts of America launched a print ad campaign in 2011 with photographs of young boys wearing the blue uniform and smiling behind scraggly beards. The “Be One With the Wild” campaign brought alive the rugged spirit of the Boy Scouts. Go out in the woods for a few days, cook over the campfire, and come home a rugged mountain man, or a cool-looking hipster. less

The Boy Scouts of America launched a print ad campaign in 2011 with photographs of young boys wearing the blue uniform and smiling behind scraggly beards. The “Be One With the Wild” campaign brought alive ... more

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A 2013 Los Angeles billboard for CougarLife, the largest dating site for pairing younger men with older woman, featured a bare-breasted woman nursing a newborn. A conversation bubble above the baby read, “Jealous?” less

A 2013 Los Angeles billboard for CougarLife, the largest dating site for pairing younger men with older woman, featured a bare-breasted woman nursing a newborn. A conversation bubble above the baby read, ... more

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Kraft claims that a 2012 ad showing a baby holding an Oreo cookie while drinking milk from his mother’s breast was never meant for public eyes.

Kraft claims that a 2012 ad showing a baby holding an Oreo cookie while drinking milk from his mother’s breast was never meant for public eyes.

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A 2012 Georgia ad campaign aimed at fighting childhood featured black-and-white posters of gloomy-looking overweight kids accompanied by blunt statements such as, “Warning. It’s hard to be a little girl if you’re fat.” less

A 2012 Georgia ad campaign aimed at fighting childhood featured black-and-white posters of gloomy-looking overweight kids accompanied by blunt statements such as, “Warning. It’s hard to be a little girl if ... more